


I got out, I got out, I'm alive and I'm here to stay

by shxnnxnchxmbxrs



Category: Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:55:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25739173
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shxnnxnchxmbxrs/pseuds/shxnnxnchxmbxrs
Summary: Song Lyrics by Jake Bugg = Two FingersIn which Peeta works in the mines
Relationships: Katniss Everdeen/Peeta Mellark
Comments: 4
Kudos: 36
Collections: Everlark One Shots and Drabbles





	I got out, I got out, I'm alive and I'm here to stay

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr: @shxnnxnchxmbxrs

“Katniss?”

The soft call of her sister’s voice echoed through the small living area of her flat. Katniss turned from her position at the kitchen sink to see her stood hesitantly in the doorway. 

“You can come in, Prim, I don’t bite.”

She set the plate she had been wiping down and travelled into the living area to greet her sister. The whole flat was tiny, with a couch that was way too large for the space, almost as if it didn’t quite belong there. She supposed it didn’t really as it was a dying gift from her witch of a mother-in-law: trust the woman to stick them with the most horrendous piece of furniture she had ever seen. The fabric was worn and a dark ochre with violet swirls on the seat cushions. In an ideal scenario neither her nor her husband would have kept it, but they simply could not afford anything else. 

Her husband, Peeta, had been the obvious choice to take over the Mellark Family bakery, however being third in line meant that control had passed to his eldest brother. Instead, they were living off of the wage of a coalminer. Katniss herself would hunt and trade, but Peeta had decided that him working in the mines was the only viable option they had. She hated it; Peeta was working six days a week so her time with him was limited, but it reminded her so much of the situation her mother and father had been in some twenty years earlier. Her father was a kind and gentle man with a fighting spirt, qualities very much apparent in her husband also. But the mines had smothered his ferocity until they eventually smothered him too. 

“Katniss…”

“You wanna sit down? I’ve got some cookies left over from the bakery this morning, Peeta’s brother brought them by.”

“Katniss…”

“I’ve got tea if you’d like?” she continued. Ever since their father had died, Katniss was concerned that her sister wasn’t eating enough. Most often she never was, but within the last few years her apothecary in the merchant part of town was flourishing and Prim could finally afford to feed herself. Katniss still worried though and she believed that she always would. 

“Katniss you need to listen to me.” 

Prim was never blunt, and her tone took Katniss by surprise. It was with this that she looked at her sister properly for the first time since her arrival. Her eyes were glossy but steely and her cheeks were flushed like she’d been running.

“I don’t quite know how I can tell you this.”

“What is it? Is it Peeta?”

Prim didn’t answer. 

“Prim! What’s happened? Where’s Peeta? Is he okay?”

She still didn’t answer. 

“Prim, please tell me!” She was desperate now, clinging to her sister as if her life depended on it. She released a shaky, choked sob as she clutched at the collar of her little sister’s dress. 

“Something has happened at the mines. They think it was an explosion.”

And with two simple sentences her life crumbled in her hands, slipping away from her as she grasped with her fingertips, desperately trying to hold on.  
Without another word to her sister she moved towards the front door, but her legs felt like lead and bile rose up her throat. A warm hand grasped hers and gently helped her out of the apartment. 

The Town Square, which was usually a bustling hive of trade, was desolate. The walk through the town was blurry and fuzzy, and her eyes could not focus on anything. The first thing Katniss could see was a cluster of people on the edge of the Seam area of town, clearly gathering around the atrocity. 

“She’s here! She’s here! Move out of the way!” The man bellowing was quickly in front of her and she recognised the dark hair and grey eyes so similar to her own.

“Gale? What’s happened? Where’s Peeta?” She asked frantically. 

There had been a landslide within the mine, Gale had explained. Peeta was in a tunnel when it happened and managed to dive out of the way just in time.

“He’s alive! Where is he?”

“Katniss, he’s still in the tunnel. His leg got caught under the rubble. We have a rescue team in right now, but they’re frightened that if they move any rubble the whole mountainside might collapse.”

“I don’t care! Get him out! NOW!” she screamed hoarsely, and she felt Prim tighten her grip on her. The touch grounded her, and she collapsed to the floor in broken sobs. Piles of arid dirt were fisted in her hands as she punched the earth beneath her.

She must have blacked out from the screaming at some point. When her eyes next opened it was dark and she was numb from the cold. 

“Hey, Katniss…” Gale crouched in front of her, ran a hand down her braid and the gently cupped her cheek. “He’s out, they’re just checking him over.”  
He helped her up, aware that she was now much more alert to her surroundings.

“He’s just over here, come on, I’ll take you.” Katniss felt him tug gently on her frozen hands as he coerced her into his direction. She followed Gale willingly, her limbs stiff and heavy.

“Peeta!”

She saw him laid on the ground, sickly pale and covered in black ash. She knelt down by his side hesitantly, as if his skin were a delicate porcelain china doll. His blue eyes fluttered open as she ran a timid hand through his blond curls. 

“Never known you to be gentle, sweetheart.” His mouth turned upwards into a sly grin and she had to refrain from playfully smacking him. 

“Peeta, it’s not funny, you could have died!”

“I know, I know.” Her hand was stroking his hair gently and the other one was held over his heart, as if she was checking he was still alive. He tugged lightly on her arm, willing her to come closer to him. “Prim says my leg will never be good enough to work in the mines again.”

“Good.” She replied bluntly, before realising how disastrous her words had sounded. “Well I don’t mean good about your leg obviously!” Katniss huffed in annoyance at Peeta, who seemed to find it highly amusing.

“I love you, so much, you know? All I could think about was getting back to you… and your elegant way with words.” Peeta was beaming now, grinning like a schoolboy at her annoyance at him. 

“I love you too. I couldn’t lose you.” She replied, choosing to ignore his jokes.

“You didn’t lose me. I got out, I’m alive, and I’m here to stay. I will be annoying you with ill-timed humour for as long as I can.”

“Good.”

And for the first time that day, she actually felt good.


End file.
